Casa Le Crete Blog

Allerona is situated in the so-called ‘blessed’ triangle, as it lies on the border between Umbria, Tuscany and Lazio. Here at Casa Le Crete we feel equally blessed to have this very picturesque town with it’s 388 inhabitnts located within a short drive. It is a pleasure to wander the small stone streets as well […]

When we were kids (ragazzi) growing up in New York, my grandparents were far, far from affluent. In fact, they made their own soap using lye, cured olives, sewed their own clothes and bartered the shoes my grandfather made in his small shop for music lessons for the six children. As in most […]

Culture Shock is this month’s topic for Dolce Vita Bloggers. There are many differences between living in Italy and living in the United States. Some better, some worse, and ‘some just plain frustrating’. Italians (and most of Europe) sensibly respect the hours reserved for the daily ‘pausa’. This varies city by city and town by town. […]

A perfect day in Italy does not necessarily mean visiting churches, monuments or museums. The joy of being in Italy is in the simple pleasures that even doing everyday errands brings. That is not to say that I am not thrown off by the words that can strike fear in your heart ‘chiuso per pranzo’ […]

This Thursday, 8 March is the International Women’s Day that celebrates women’s achievements throughout history and across nations. It is also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace. What a timely suggestion from fellow Dolce Vita Bloggers to write about a woman who has inspired me. Nilanjana Sudheshna Lahiri was born on July 11, 1967, in London, England, […]

Even though we have to leave Casa Le Crete a day before to catch the Alitalia Miami Rome flight, it does offer an excuse for an overnight in Rome. We usually drop (ditch) the car at the airport and book in at the Airport Hilton that provides a free shuttle into the city center. We […]

As I find that my blog can languish between posts, it is encouraging to find a like minded group, #DolceVitaBloggers, that send prompts of Italian topics to write about on a monthly basis. I am not opposed to the occasional ‘poke’ or ‘prod’ encouraging me to write something. Especially in light of the after holiday […]

At my age it is always a challenge to learn new things. I am currently trying to master Instagram or at the very least understand it. A fellow Instagram user Kelly of Italian at Heart proposed that we write on a preselected topic and then somehow, magically (I’m not sure how to do this yet) link […]